Ground game leads Trevians past Niles West

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:30PM

Less than a minute into their game at Niles West Friday night, the New Trier offense connected on a 69-yard touchdown pass. The Wolves responded by taking away the Trevians' passing game. New Trier was happy to oblige.

Running back Jack Nykaza ran 20 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Trevians (3-2, 1-1) to a 28-14 Central Suburban South victory. The junior was especially tough in the fourth quarter, helping put the game out of reach by controlling the clock.

"(The long touchdown) was a good play, it really set the tone that we could come out and do it again," Nykaza said. "It kind of loosened them up. They started coming on the strong side a lot, but we were able to pick it up and keep jamming it in there."

Trevian receiver Scott Schoder hauled in the quick pass from quarterback Connor DeLoach 10 yards from the line of scrimmage and sprinted down the sideline 60 yards untouched, scoring with 11:04 left in the first. Nykaza did the rest, with touchdown runs of seven, 15 and 11 yards, controlling the clock and keeping the explosive Niles West offense off the field.

"We like to keep the ball on the ground and eat up the clock and keep our defense fresh," said Trevians head coach Dan Starkey. "So when we can run the ball, we definitely want to."

Santiago Ochoa had a pair of 67-yard kick returns, setting up both touchdowns for the Wolves (1-5, 0-2). He also scored one of the touchdowns on a five-yard reverse. David Galimore (44 rushing yards) scored the other Niles West touchdown.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.